Lethbridge Liberal, Alberta Party candidates share their plan to stand out

EDITOR’S NOTE: This story previously stated that the Lethbridge College poll did not include voter intention numbers for the Alberta Party, which was incorrect. It has since been corrected to include the Alberta Party’s ranking in the poll. We regret the error.

The 2019 provincial election is in full swing, and amid the various political groups and candidates running for a seat, it’s often the United Conservatives and New Democrats making headlines — but not always for all the right reasons.

“I suspect it’s going to get very nasty,” said Zac Rhodenizer, Alberta Party candidate for Lethbridge-West. “I think there is a very good chance that in the mud-slinging, a lot of people are going to be turned off from both of those two major options.”

According to a recent poll out of Lethbridge College, among decided voters, the UCP leads in Lethbridge-East and West, the NDP is in second, the Liberals are in third, the Freedom Conservative Party is in fifth and the Alberta Party is in last. Fourth place in the poll was occupied by “other parties and candidates.”

Despite that, the Liberal and Alberta Party candidates have a plan — to get noticed.

“Our strategy is basically to try and be as positive and civil, because I think a lot of people are getting tired of the attack, the negativity and it’s turning a lot of people away from even coming out to vote,” Rhodenizer added.

“We’re here to affect change,” said Devon Hargreaves, the Liberal candidate for Lethbridge-East. “We’re running based on or policies, standing up for children, reducing classroom sizes, advocating for pipelines and the economy, and those speak for themselves.

“We don’t have to resort to this mud slinging we’ve seen for four years in Edmonton.”

WATCH: Alberta election: Panelists weigh in on campaign issues

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“This isn’t a two-party battle, this is a battle of the issues,” added Patt Chizek, the Liberal Party’s candidate for Lethbridge-West. “Let’s bring that forward.” Instead of attacking personalities, Chizek said, “let’s discuss the issues and then we can make this a multi-party campaign as it should be.”

The candidates plan to be very visible in the coming weeks.